Singer revisits a dream, with all its pain, at 80

Valentino Perry, 80, sings for fellow residents of Leisure World to keep his voice strong, he said. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

For more Valentino Perry

To see and hear Valentino Perry's demo video with almost eight minutes of singing, go to 'Valentino Perry is the Boxcar Singer II' on YouTube. To contact him for singing engagements and other opportunities email him at Nevernever92647@yahoo.com.

As a teenager stuck in a small Ohio town in the 1940s, Valentino Perry caught the crooner's bug something fierce.

Afternoons he'd slip away to the tool shed behind his family's home, a place he decorated with pictures of his heroes, Frank and Tony and Dino, and there he'd sing their hits until his mother called him in for dinner.

Eventually Valentino, then still known by his given name of Gino Nardo, discovered a place he loved to sing even more.

"They had the rail lines, the Allegheny Line, the Pennsylvania Line, that went through town, and I would jump in a boxcar and sing," he says over coffee at his regular hangout, a Carl's Jr. just outside the gates of his home at Leisure World in Seal Beach. "You know why? The acoustics were so good in there.

For 15 years or so, from the 10th grade until he turned 30, Valentino chased his dream. In New York City he lived in Bowery squats, shivering through harsh winters. In Hollywood he plucked watermelons and cantaloupes from the local market's trash bin.

He had some success, met some of his heroes, released one 45 single. But in 1963 he finally put his dream to rest.

"I had no money, nothing going for me," he says. "So I quit. Hung it up."

Or so he thought. Five years ago, Valentino, then 75, saw a sign as he was driving out of Leisure World.

"Karaoke tonight. Singers welcome."

Deep inside, the old dream stirred.

"I thought, 'By gosh, I'm going to check it out.' "

•••

Valentino was born and raised in Warren, Ohio, a steel town roughly halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. His parents were Italian immigrants, his father worked in the mills.

"We were poor, dirt poor," he says. "My father was not a nice, gentle person. He would beat the hell out of me."

Related Links

Valentino Perry, 80, sings for fellow residents of Leisure World to keep his voice strong, he said. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"All I need is one job," Valentino Perry said of pursuing his interrupted dream of becoming a professional singer. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"I haven't had one singing job in 45 years," said Valentino Perry. But until he finds work, he shares the songs of his youth with fellow residents of Leisure World. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Valentino Perry, 80, says it used to pain him to hear Frank Sinatra sing because Sinatra was living the dream he wanted for himself. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Valentino Perry, 80, says it used to pain him to hear Frank Sinatra sing because Sinatra was living the dream he wanted for himself. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Valentino Perry, 80, shares the songs of his youth with fellow residents of Leisure World. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Valentino Perry, 80, shares the songs of his youth with fellow residents of Leisure World. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"I haven't had a singing job in 45 years," Valentino Perry said. He still dreams of becoming a professional singer. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Some residents of Leisure World said Valentino Perry was a hit. ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In the early 1950s, Valentino Perry (then known as Gino Nardo) got a chance to meet his idol, Frank Sinatra. Valentino, on a weekend pass from his job in the Navy, waited all day at the Chez Paree nightclub in Chicago. Sinatra's manager took pity on Valentino, bought him a sandwich and, after the show, introduced him to Frank. The pair spent about 15 minutes talking music, a conversation Valentino can recall 60 years later. COURTESY VALENTINO PERRY
Gino Nardo, circa 1960, made one record during the first stage of his singing career. His label printed fan club photos in preparation for his success. The record sold five copies. COURTESY VALENTINO PERRY
In 1948, Gino Nardo, looking a bit like a young John Turturro, was ready for stardom as a crooner. He practiced in boxcars and sang in tiny venues available in his small Ohio hometown. Soon, he started a life of regular pilgrimages to New York and Los Angeles in search of a musical career. He soon took on the name Valentino Perry. At 80, his dream is alive. COURTESY VALENTINO PERRY

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